Chapter 40
Alistar would have been the only one to remain still, if not for his oblivious cousin and her disinterested friends. What was the point in those empty actions? He didn’t see the sense to it, but now was hardly the time to bring that up.
Mr. Herst resumed speaking. "In summary, Limnin was a hero from the Inverted Wars, who went on to found the empire that our kingdom belongs to. There are holidays and festivals in his name, so he’s somebody that you should try to learn more about."
Other children began to ask questions, and slowly the focus shifted away from Alistar. Still, he had plenty of things on his mind. He mirrored the others and raised his hand, waiting patiently for Mr. Herst to call upon him again.
When his turn came, he asked, "About the Drunaeda—the demons—what happened to them?"
"They’ve mostly died off. You only ever see their descendants these days. Distan is one of the few places in the empire where these descendants may settle down, as I myself have done."
"What do you mean?" Alistar asked slowly, as if the old man were trying to play a trick on him. "You said that the Drunaeda were monsters. You’re just a regular old man."
Mr. Herst’s eyes took on a strange glint, as if they were observing some long forgotten scenery. "It’s believed that through generations of atonement, we descendants of the demons are slowly purging ourselves of our original sin. One day, our bloodlines will return to being human. This is proof that Lord Lucian is forever merciful." He ducked his wrinkled head.
No one spoke for a few moments, not until a rotund boy exaggerated a yawn in the midst of the silence and said, "When do we get our snack?" He stood with Anice and her friends.
Eager to finish the review, the other children joined in.
"Yeah!"
"Snacks!"